Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Baking GALS Round 14 - Pumpkin Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake




Oh my f*#&ing god.  That was almost what I entitled this post…seriously.  Alas, I maintained my cool – barely.  It’s been a long time since I tried out a new recipe and was totally blown away.  I don’t know if it’s that this combo of flavors really just works, or if they were just hitting the spot for me today or very likely a combo of the two, but this recipe should definitely go on your “must make” list. (Come on, I can’t be the only one who has one of those right?!) 

I’ve known for a while that orange and cardamom are a great combination.  The floral scent/taste of cardamom just fits with sweet floral oranges.  My mom makes Scandinavian orange cardamom bread at Christmas, often per my insistent request.  It’s considered a sweet bread, but it has just a hint of sweetness to it.  Toast it up, add a little butter and (here we go again), oh my f*#&ing god, it’s so good.  I’ll have to attempt to make that myself someday, but for now I’ll leave it as a mom specialty.  Anyway, back to this cake.

I like to try to make something seasonal for the guys so they can really get a taste of home, especially in the fall since fall flavors are so rich and warm.  How can you not feel cozy, even if just for a second, when eating some apple pie or pumpkin bread or butternut squash ravioli – yum.  I saw the name of this recipe and was intrigued.  However, as you can tell by the pictures I didn’t make this in bundt cake form.  I’ve only sent one cake overseas and it was tricky to pack.  It was probably tricky to share as well, so I thought I’d stick with something easier in both departments, hence the muffins.  Be jealous people, these are awesome – and fellas, eat your hearts out!

**Note**  Cardamom is my “secret spice”.  I like to slip it into random recipes (even once in chocolate chip cookies!).  It is used a lot in both Indian cooking as well as Scandinavian.  Considering my parents lived in India for several years and my mom’s family is Norwegian, I grew up with her using it quite a bit.  I made an apple pie for someone this past weekend, and after deliberating with my mom about whether it would work with apples or not, I decided to chance it and throw some in.  The verdict?  Well, I was told the pie was “mindblowing”.  ‘Nuff said – thank you cardamom!

Glazed

Plated

Cake Ingredients

2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 cup White Whole Wheat Flour (I use King Arthur)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup flavorless oil such as safflower or canola
3 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon fresh orange juice
1 cup plain yogurt


Glaze Ingredients

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons buttermilk (I omitted this)
4 teaspoons fresh orange juice


Instructions

Note: You’ll want to bake this on a lower rack in your oven so be sure to set that up before you preheat it.  If you make muffins, bake on the middle rack.


1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour your Bundt pan well and set aside. (Use muffin papers or grease muffin pans)
3. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon and set aside.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugars. Add the oil and beat for about a minute.
5. Beat in each egg separately until combined.
6. Add the pumpkin puree, orange zest and juice and mix on medium speed until well combined. There should be no lumps from the pumpkin left.
7. With your mixer on low, alternate adding the yogurt and the flour mixture scraping down the bowl periodically. Mix until just combined.
8. Pour the batter into your prepared pan, evening out the top of the cake.
9. Bake in your preheated oven for about 75 minutes. I suggest you check it after 60 minutes for doneness (ovens vary) to make sure the top isn’t over browning. You can put a piece of foil over it and let it continue baking. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached. *For mini muffins, bake 10-12 min. For regular muffins, bake 14-17 min.
10. Allow it to cool about an hour before removing it from the pan, then let it cool completely before adding the glaze.

Recipe adapted from www.knitstamatic.wordpress.com


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